No Greater Gift
by XxBloodsbanexX
Summary: In which Jerry attempts to get a free dinner, Tom is up to something, and it is Christmas day. Merry Christmas to all who enjoy it!


**Hello. This is my first Tom and Jerry fanfiction, and it just so happens to be a Holiday-fic, just in time for Christmas. I kind of wanted to do something for Christmas and Tom and Jerry at the same time, since I've been in love with the cartoons since I can remember. I got the idea for this tiny one-shot not too long after the seasons settled in, and it just kept poking at me until I wrote it.**

**It isn't as long or even as seasonal as I thought it would be, but I think it's kind of cute, if a bit... lacking. And I just hope it gives you all something to think about for Christmases to come. **

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Jerry could feel the crisp chill of the morning even before he opened his eyes. It drew goosebumps up and down his spine, making his tail and whiskers quiver. The mouse frowned, for a moment still half intoxicated with sleep. He snuggled deeper into his cotton bed, hoping that he would fall back into the same dream he'd been having only moments before. Jerry sighed, brought his knees to his chest and pulled his blanket closer.

Just then, before Jerry could fall back asleep a smell wafted through the room, riding on a puff if wind and across Jerry's black nose. The mouse sniffed, his eyes still closed, for the moment unaware of the smell. Then he opened his eyes and really breathed in the scent. As the names of the smells came to him, they filled his mind with their images.

Mmm... Ham and mashed potatoes. Stew, fruit salad, gravy, vegies and what smelled like an endless array of spices, wines and seasonings. And the faintest hint of apple pie. They tickled Jerry's nose and made his stomach roar in anticipation. The mouse licked his tan lips, scurried out of bed and dared to poke his head out of the hole to his hiding place in the wall.

All around were decorations. On the tables were draped in white and red tablecloths; glass bowls holding mountains of candy sat on their surfaces. There were plastic bells attached to chairs, garland strewn above every doorway and high shelf, and snowflakes tied with string hung from above. Sugary treats were displayed on plates - Jerry recognized them as the owner's last set of fine china. Christmas jingles crackled from the old radio, which was settled above Jerry's head on the podium beside the kitchen.

From his hole, Jerry had a very clear look of the kitchen, and he could see all of the delicacies piled up on the table; a tower of food just waiting for him to jump in.

The brown mouse sniffed, glancing around the living room with sharp eyes. No gray-blue fur here, no white paws there. Hidden under the table? No. Waiting beside the hole? Jerry looked all around but didn't see ear nor tail of that Tom. Jerry frowned. He could just imagine that cat jumping from some impossible location, yellow eyes gleaming at another chance to catch the elusive mouse. The thought of Tom succeeding made Jerry's tail twitch.

Jerry knew he shouldn't risk it. The room was completely empty. The owner and her husband and family were out front talking - Jerry could hear them through the flap of the kitty door in the kitchen. Everything around was quiet, still. It was such a perfect setup.

It was _too _perfect a setup. Much too perfect.

Jerry's whiskers twitched in distrust. But another look at the bounty beyond made his feet rub against the wooden floor in restlessness. Tom was always on guard duties over the holidays. And more often than not, Jerry would immediately dive into the food the second Tom received his orders. The poor cat could never keep Jerry out of the food. But he sure as heck tried his hardest, which usually ended in his own demise, and Jerry getting away scott free. More often than not, after the disaster of a perfectly wonderful holiday dinner, whatever family was currently housing the blue-gray cat would promptly kick him out. Jerry always felt sort of bad. But nontheless, he continued to follow the tom from home to home, sometimes helping him and sometimes sabotaging him for fun.

The mouse sniffed the air again, but the sight of so much food kept distracting him. Eventually, the screaming of his instincts overrode his reasoning. He could he _not _go for it? And besides, if Tom did catch wind of Jerry's actions, the mouse would just turn the tables like he always did.

So Jerry took a few steps back, braced himself, and dashed. He ran across the living room, feet pounding against the rug, eyes locked on the image of ham and bread and corn. Jerry ran and ran and ran...

And ran...

And he kept running...

Why wasn't he going anywhere?

Slowly the mouse ceased his efforts and stopped trying to run. Feeling a familiar tug on his tail, Jerry gulped, closed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look behind him.

Of course. Tom was holding the end of Jerry's tail between his white fingers, yawning as he waited for the mouse to realize that he indeed _was not _going anywhere.

Jerry glanced back over his shoulder, at the doorway, at the food, but knew that it was futile. Tom was obviously on top of his game today - he wasn't going to let Jerry anywhere _near _of the food, and though Jerry knew he would probably outsmart the feline at some point during the day, something told him that today just wasn't the day to fight. It _was_ Christmas, for goodness sakes. Maybe the cat deserved a break...

Then again, that ham was still calling to him.

Jerry prepared to try one of his old tricks - pretend to have something in his hand, have Tom look over his shoulder, sock the cat in the eye - when Tom lifted Jerry off of the ground and into the air, holding him at eye level and glaring passively.

Just when Jerry was about to pull off a whisker and attempt to run and hide, Tom held up a finger, reached behind his back and pulled out a sizable box, wrapped in bright Christmas paper and topped with a bright red bow. He set it beside Jerry's hole, and then set the mouse down on top of the gift, standing aside and watching expectantly.

Jerry could only stare. Tom couldn't really expect him to _open_the present, could he? Who was to say that there wasn't a bomb inside, or a bear trap or rancid cheese? Jerry gave Tom a look and simply shook his head, crossing his tiny brown arms and turning his back on the bow. But Tom only shook his head, turned Jerry around with a finger and gently pushed the mouse closer to the bow. He even gave Jerry an encouraging smile and took another step back, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws patiently and in a very un-Tom-like way.

While this should have spiked up Jerry's suspicion, it only caused his curiosity to flare, and the mouse couldn't help but give the ribbon an experimental tug. No explosions, no cages, no anvils falling from the sky. So far so good. Cautiously, Jerry grabbed onto the ribbon and gave it a good tuck, undoing the knot and he jumped back in shock as the box collapsed. Hopping from the top, the mouse was about to turn and throw Tom a well-deserved glare but a smell caught his attention first. The mouse's tail twitched and Jerry turned to see the most beautiful sight there was to behold for a mouse.

It was a small table, just his size, and it was stacked high with items of any well prepared holiday feast. There was ham and mashed potatoes, fruits and vegetables, with stuffing and gravy settled beneath the table, along with a roll of bread and a saucer of sparkling golden liquid which Jerry hoped was cider. There were _three_different blocks of cheese sitting around the table, each varying in size depending on availability, and a nice big slice of apple pie sitting beside them. Stuffing and cranberry sauce had been placed in a container made of a ripped apart can - one half for the stuffing, one for the sauce. There was even a piece of chocolate sitting beside the cheese, as well as a stack of saltine crackers.

Jerry didn't know how to react. He stood, shell-shocked and paralyzed as well as a little horrified. If _Tom_was offering such a bountiful gift, there simply _had_to be a catch, and Jerry desperately hoped that there wasn't one.

Tom smiled at Jerry's reaction, and the cat only gestured toward the gift as Jerry gave him an incredulous look. So it wasn't a trick? It was safe to eat? Jerry took a step closer to the food but it took all of his self-control to keep from pouncing into the mound. He snatched a grape from the pile, sniffed it, and then gave it an experimental nibble. Waiting a few seconds and experiancing no imploding of the stomach, Jerry swallowed the entire grape and then turned to Tom again. He shrugged his shoulders, disbelieving. If it wasn't poisoned and it really _was_all his to eat, then what was the catch?

As if reading his mind, Tom's face suddenly grew stern. He stood up and pointed to Jerry, then pointed toward the kitchen, and then he stepped between the mouse and the kitchen, folding his arms and shaking his head, glaring. He lifted an eyebrow, asking of the mouse understood. Jerry nodded furiously and sighed. Tom really wanted to have a good, quiet Christmas this year didn't he? So much that he'd give his own lifelong rival some of the prize. A little part of Jerry was touched that Tom didn't mind giving a little to get a little. The mouse smiled at the cat, bowed in mock respect and then turned to his feast, fingers wiggling, stomach growling and tail twitching in anticipation.

Later on, after Jerry had cleaned off every inch of the mini table, he leaned against the edge of the hole, picking his teeth and glancing at the doorway to the kitchen. He could just see Tom sitting on the lap of his current master, smiling contently as the humans talked and laughed over their dinner. Every few minutes or so, the master's hand would appear beneath the tabletop, giving Tom a piece of ham or turkey, which the cat snatched up gratefully, licking his lips in delight.

When Tom caught Jerry's eye, the two of them winked and then turned away. Jerry knew that tomorrow would be no different than any of the other days of the year. Just because it was Christmas didn't mean he'd been given the gift of an easy breakfast tomorrow morning.

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_"For friends and foes alike, there is no greater gift to give than the gift of a tranquil Christmas."_

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**Review if you like. And have a Merry Christmas. ;)**


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